Shortcomings of the National Joint Registry: a survey of consultants' views

INTRODUCTION: The National Joint Registry (NJR) for England and Wales was launched in April 2003. The UK Department of Health (DoH) awarded the contract to run the NJR to Atomic Energy Authority (AEA) Technology in September 2002. The aim was to etablish the views of a large group of orthopaedic consultants on the new NJR. METHODS: A questionnaire was sent by post to 405 orthopaedic consultants in the Midlands and South West. RESULTS: Overwhelming support was found for the idea of a national joint replacement register that is used for peer-run audit. However, there was wide-spread concern about the lack of orthopaedic representation on the steering committee. The majority of surgeons have concerns about the possible use of NJR data for the production of league tables.